1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for stacking slips temporarily therein and, more particularly, to a temporary slip stacking apparatus which receives airline tickets or similar slips and stacks them temporarily therein for processing them or exchanging them for another kind of slips such as boarding tickets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A temporary slip stacking apparatus is used with slip processing terminal equipment which exchanges primary slips such as flight reservations or cash vouchers for secondary slips such as boarding tickets.
Slip processing terminal equipment with a temporary slip stacking apparatus of the type described is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 265362/1988 assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of the present invention. The equipment disclosed in this Laid-Open Publication is constructed such that when a reservation ticket, cash voucher or similar primary slip is inserted into an inlet, an identification data reading section, a magnetic reading section and an optical reading section read various kinds of data out of the slip and, then, the slip is transported to the temporary stacking apparatus. Whether the slip introduced in the equipment should be processed or should be exchanged for a secondary slip is determined on the basis of the data readout thereof. When the slip is to be processed, it is fed out of the stacking apparatus, processed, and then driven out of the equipment via an outlet. On the other hand, when the slip is to be exchanged for a secondary slip, a medium from which the secondary slip is to be produced is fed from a hopper, subjected to predetermined processing, and then discharged via the outlet as a secondary slip. In this case, the primary slip is fed out of the temporary stacking apparatus to a stacker which is installed in the equipment body. The medium mentioned above may be a blank paper sheet when, for example, the secondary slip is to be produced by printing.
As stated above, a temporary stacking apparatus implements an essential function of slip processing terminal equipment, i.e., holding entered slips for a moment until processing with the slips has been completed on the basis of data stored therein. Various approaches are available for holding slips temporarily and then feeding them out one by one, and the temporary stacking apparatus is provided with one configuration or another depending upon the approach selected. Especially, when it is desired to process slips rapidly according to the order of customers who are waiting in line at the counter of an airport, for example, it is necessary that the stacking apparatus be provided with a first-in, first-out operation capability, i.e., a capability for feeding out the first slip first. A technology for implementing such a first-in, first-out mode operation has not been reported yet.